Method of and apparatus for extracting gold and silver from their ores



A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. W. AYLSWORTH 87 A. G. PAYNE. METHOD OF ANDAPPARATUS FOR BXTRAGTING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THEIR ORES.

No. 481,683. Patented Aug. 30, 1892.

(No Model.)

' 2 SheetsSheet 2.

J. W. AYLSWORTH & A. c. PAYNE. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR EXTRAGTINGGOLD AND SILVER FROM THEIR ORBS.

No. 481,683. Patented Aug. 30. 1892.

' (No Model.)

' i/lww/a mom/tows:

M Q W A 0% W fiywwwzth, w W T a E Fag/1w UNITED STATES j PATENTOFFICE...

JONAS \V. AYLSWVORTH, OE ORANGE, AND ARTHUR O. PAYNE, OF ELIZABETH, NEWJERSEY.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THEIR ORES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 481,683, dated August30, 1892.

Application filed July 3, 1891. Serial No. 398,444. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: receives a hopper d, by means of which cer-Beitknownthatwe, J ONASW. AYLSWORTH, tain gaugue which has passedthrough an residing at Orange, in the county of Essex, amalgamatingprocess, described inacontemand ARTHUR G. PAYNE, residing at Elizabeth,poraneous application, Serial No. 398,443, filed 5 5 in the county ofUnion, State of New Jersey, July 3,1891, and which will be againreferred citizens of the United States, have invented to hereinafter, isled into the pan from the certain new and useful Improvements in theamalgamator A or other supply mechanism Method of and Apparatus forExtracting Gold or storage-chamber prior to being forced over and Silverfrom their Ores; and we do hereby the mercury in said pan, ashereinafter de- 60 IO declare the following to be afull, clear, andscribed. At the same end of the pan at the exact description of theinvention, such as extremity the said pan is connected with a willenable others skilled in the art to which blower, by means of which thefine gangue it appertains to make and use the same, referis forced overthe mercury in close conence beinghad to the accompanying drawings,tiguity with the surface thereof. At the opr 5 and to letters ofreference marked thereon, posite end of the pan the same is providedwhich form a part of this specification. with a chute e, by means ofwhich the dust The object of this invention is to secure and gangue fromwhich the metal has been the extraction of the precious metals fromextracted is carried to a distance from the their ground ores or andmore particularly machine. 70 to save from the gangue what mightotherwise The process of separation is conducted subpass off therewithafter the amalgamating stantiallyasfollows: The comminutedgangue processis effected. carrying the auriferous particles is first The inventionconsists in the process of passed through a body of magnetic amalgamextracting precious metal from its ore and in or an amalgam of iron andmercury in rela- 75 the arrangements and combinations of parts,tivelysmall quantities and the gold or precious substantially as will behereinafter set forth, metal is extracted therefrom, but a small perandfinally embodied in the clauses of the centage of the said magneticamalgam is claim. taken up by the gangue, because of the ra- Referringto the accompanying drawings, pidity of the operations of the process oroth- 8o in which like letters indicate corresponding erwise, and iscarried therewith into the departs in each of the several figures,Figure 1 vice herein described more particularly. is a plan of theimproved device. Fig. 2 is a To prepare the magnetic amalgam, mercuryside elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a secis placed in a suitablevessel, and over this is tional view taken on line 00, Fig. 1; and Fig.4 poured a concentrated solution of ferrous snl- 85 is another sectiontaken at right angles to the phatesay one pound of mercury to two firston line y, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional quarts of the solution. An ironelectrode is view showing the relation of the magnetic then placed intothe sulphate solution, and separator to an amalgamator, from which itisboth the mercury and the iron are connected adapted to receive thecomminuted ore. by wires to a convenient source of electricity 0 o Inthe drawings, a indicates a strong elecof from two to twenty voltspotential, so that fro-magnet. ct are the wires connecting with thecurrentshall pass from the iron through means for generating an electriccurrentin any the solution to the mercury and thereby cause ordinarymanner, and C62 are the pole-pieces, a deposit of iron, which isabsorbed and comwhich extend up into a shallow pan or recepbined withsaid mercury. The operation is 5 tacle b and are there provided withknifecontinued until themercury hasbecome thick edges a as shown in Fig.4. The said pan is or pasty, in which condition it will contain inclosedat the top, as at b, and within the about ten parts of iron to onehundred of merpan the projecting pole-pieces and end pieces cury. Themass thus obtained is diluted with 0 form a shallow chamber for themercury or mercury to make it perfectly fluid; but it still moamalgamating composition, hereinafter reretains a proper degree ofmagnetic susceptiferred to. At one end of the pan the same bility. Thecomminuted gangue carrying the globules of magnetic amalgam is receivedfrom the amalgamator into the hopper d, and from thence it is fed to thepan to a point therein over the body of quicksilver or mercury lyingbetween the pole-pieces of the magnet,which extend longitudinally fromend to end of the pan. As the gangue strikes this mercury it encountersthe blast from the blower entering at f, and is carried by said blastthrough the inclosing box over the surface of mercury and between thepolepieces and out at c. From the point where the gangue encounters .theblast to the magnet the action is simply one of distribution. The blastscatters the gangue and the larger globules of amalgam tend to remain onthe surface of the mercury; but on account of the dust covering thesurface of these globules they will not enterinto the body of themercury until they accumulate in some weight, when they sink and areabsorbed. The dust and finer particles are carried by the blast ,throughthe low passage in the box or pan b, over the surface of the mercury andbetween the pole-pieces. Here the globules of magnetic amalgam areattracted to the poles and are drawn down into the mercury, because theline of greatest magnetic force is below the surface, as will beunderstood upon examination of Fig. 4, where 41. indicates the uppersurface of the body of mercury.

While we have described a dry method of forcing the gangue containingmagnetic amalgam into contignity to the electro-magnet we may employ amethod in which water is the motive force without departing from theinvention. Nevertheless the process is more especially adapted to theextraction of precious metals from the dry ores, and by means of theamalgamating-machine in the said contemporaneous application, by meansof which the comminuted ore is conveyed to the machine particularlydescribed herein in small quantities but continuously. Again, we mayvary the relation of the magnet and receptacle for the mercury andchange the construction of both from that shown without departing fromthe invention, the essential feature of the process being the passing ofthe gangue carrying the fine globules of precious amalgam through astrong magnetic field, thereby attractin g the amalgam and separatingthe particles susceptible to magnetic influence and allowing thenon-magnetic portions to pass ofi from the machine.

In the use of an amalgam of iron and mercury the iron is found to playan important part in the operation of amalgamation, with the preciousmetal itself increasing the amalgamating power of the mercury, and it isfound to be desirable to add iron amalgam to the body of theamalgamating fluid from time to time, in order to secure the desireddegree of magnetic susceptibility in the fine particles of amalgam thatare carried into the machine to be separated from the gangue whenpassing through the magnetic field. The nonmagnetic dust is notattracted and passeson out at the opening e. The mercury as it be comescharged with magnetic amalgam is removed and fresh metal is supplied.While it is found that the wedge-shaped pole-pieces are preferable, yetwe do not wish to limit ourselves to that construction and themechanisms may be otherwise varied without departing from the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new is 1. Theprocess of extracting precious metal from its ore, which consists insubjecting the ore to the amalgamatingaction of a magnetic mercurialamalgam, and then passing said ore through a magnetic field andextracting 'he fiemaining amalgam, substantially as set ort 2. Theprocess of extracting precious metal from its ore, which consists inpassing the ore containing said precious metal into close associationwith a magnetic composition and combining the said precious metaltherewith, and then forcing the particles of precious metal combinedwith said composition through a magnetic field and attracting themagnetic particles therefrom,substanti ally as set forth.

3. The process of extracting precious metal from its ore, which consistsin subjecting the ore to the action of an amalgam of mercury and iron,and after separating said ore from the body of said amalgam subjectingthe same to the action of a magnet and attracting the remainingparticles of said amalgam, substantially as set forth.

4. The process of separating magnetic amalgam from comminuted gangue,which consists in forcing said gangue through a magnetic field and overa surface of mercury, substantially as set forth.

5. The process of separating magnetic amalgam from comminuted gangue,which consists in forcing the dry gangue by pneumatic power over asurface of mercury arranged in a magnetic field, substantially as setforth.

6. The process of separating magnetic amalgam from its gangue, whichconsists in attracting said magnetic amalgam toward a body of fluidmetal,substantiallyas set forth.

7. The process of separating precious metal from its ore, which consistsin passing said ore into a magnetic bodyof mercury amalgam, the orebeing relatively smaller in quantity than the said mercury, and allowingsaid ore to rise to the surface of said amalgam, then passing said oreover a magnetic field adjacent to a body of liquid metal and attractingparticles of amalgam toward and into said body of liquid metal,substantially as set forth.

8. The process of extracting precious metal from comminuted ore, whichconsists in subj ecting said ore to the action of an amalgam containingparticles in suspension, such as iron, susceptible to magneticattraction, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with a magnet and a pan or receptacle for mercury,of a blower or other means for forcing the ore over said mer cury andthrough the field of said magnet, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with a pan or receptacle for mercury, of amagnethavin g its polepieces in said pan, and means for supplying thepan with comminuted ore, and pneumatic means for forcing said ore in adrystate over said mercury, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination, with a closed pan having the longitudinal edges ofthe pole-pieces a Within the same, of a body of mercury within said pancovering the line of greatest magnetic force and means for forcing thedry ore through said pan, substantially as set forth.

J. W.v AYLSWORTH. ARTHUR C. PAYNE.

Witnesses:

OLIVER DRAKE, OSCAR A. MICHEL.

